The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

And he took ten camels of his master's herd, and departed, carrying something of all his goods with him, and he set forward and went on to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nachor.

And when he had made the camels lie down without the town, near a well of water, in the evening, at the time when women are wont to come out to draw water, he said:

O Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, meet me today, I beseech thee, and shew kindness to my master, Abraham.

Behold, I stand nigh the spring of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of this city will come out to draw water:

Now, therefore, the maid to whom I shall say: Let down thy pitcher that I may drink: and she shall answer, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let it be the same whom thou hast provided for thy servant Isaac: and by this, I shall understand that thou hast shewn kindness to my master.

He had not yet ended these words within himself, and behold Rebecca came out, the daughter of Bathuel, son of Melcha, wife to Nachor the brother of Abraham, having a pitcher on her shoulder:

An exceeding comely maid, and a most beautiful virgin, and not known to man: and she went down to the spring, and filled her pitcher, and was coming back.

And the servant ran to meet her, and said: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher.

And she answered: Drink, my lord. And quickly she let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him drink.

And when he had drunk, she said: I will draw water for thy camels also, till they all drink.

And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back to the well to draw water; and having drawn, she gave to all the camels.

But he musing, beheld her with silence, desirous to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

And after that the camels had drunk, the man took out golden earrings, weighing two sicles; and as many bracelets, of ten sicles weight.

And he said to her: Whose daughter art thou? tell me: is there any place in thy father's house to lodge?

And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor.

And she said, moreover, to him: We have good store of both straw and hay, and a large place to lodge in.

The man bowed himself down, and adored the Lord,

Saying: Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not taken away his mercy and truth from my master, and hath brought me the straight way into the house of my master's brother.

Then the maid ran, and told in her mother's house all that she had heard.

And Rebecca had a brother, named Laban, who went out in haste to the man, to the well.

And when he had seen the earrings and bracelets in his sister's hands, and had heard all that she related, saying, Thus and thus the man spoke to me: he came to the man who stood by the camels, and near to the spring of water,

And said to him: Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; why standest thou without? I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.

And he brought him into his lodging; and he unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and hay, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were come with him.

And bread was set before him. But he said: I will not eat, till I tell my message. He answered him: Speak.

And he said: I am the servant of Abraham:

And the Lord hath blessed my master wonderfully, and he is become great: and he hath given him sheep and oxen, silver and gold, men servants and women servants, camels and asses.

And Sara, my master's wife, hath borne my master a son in her old age, and he hath given him all that he had.

And my master made me swear, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the Chanaanites, in whose land I dwell:

But thou shalt go to my father's house, and shalt take a wife of my own kindred for my son:

But I answered my master: What if the woman will not come with me?

The Lord, said he, in whose sight I walk, will send his angel with thee, and will direct thy way: and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my own kindred, and of my father's house.

But thou shalt be clear from my curse, when thou shalt come to my kindred, if they will not give thee one.

And I came today to the well of water, and said: O Lord God of my master, Abraham, if thou hast prospered my way, wherein I now walk,

Behold, I stand by the well of water, and the virgin, that shall come out to draw water, who shall hear me say: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher:

And shall say to me: Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman, whom the Lord hath prepared for my master's son.

And whilst I pondered these things secretly with myself, Rebecca appeared, coming with a pitcher, which she carried on her shoulder: and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her: Give me a little to drink.

And she speedily let down the pitcher from her shoulder, and said to me: Both drink thou, and to thy camels I will give drink. I drank, and she watered the camels.

And I asked her, and said: Whose daughter art thou? And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Nachor, whom Melcha bore to him. So I put earrings on her to adorn her face, and I put bracelets on her hands.

And falling down, I adored the Lord, blessing the Lord God of my master, Abraham, who hath brought me the straight way to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.

Wherefore, if you do according to mercy and truth with my master, tell me: but if it please you otherwise, tell me that also, that I may go to the right hand, or to the left.

And Laban and Bathuel answered: The word hath proceeded from the Lord: we cannot speak any other thing to thee but his pleasure.

Behold, Rebecca is before thee, take her and go thy way, and let her be the wife of thy master's son, as the Lord hath spoken.

Which when Abraham's servant heard, falling down to the ground, he adored the Lord.

And bringing forth vessels of silver and gold, and garments, he gave them to Rebecca, for a present. He offered gifts also to her brothers, and to her mother.

And a banquet was made, and they ate and drank together, and lodged there. And in the morning, the servant arose, and said: Let me depart, that I may go to my master.

And her brother and mother answered: Let the maid stay, at least, ten days with us, and afterwards she shall depart.

Stay me not, said he, because the Lord hath prospered my way: send me away, that I may go to my master.

And they said: Let us call the maid, and ask her will.

And they called her, and when she was come, they asked: Wilt thou go with this man? She said: I will go.

So they sent her away, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his company.

Wishing prosperity to their sister, and saying: Thou art our sister, mayst thou increase to thousands of thousands; and may thy seed possess the gates of their enemies.

So Rebecca and her maids, being set upon camels, followed the man: who with speed returned to his master.

At the same time, Isaac was walking along the way to the well which is called Of the living and the seeing: for he dwelt in the south country:

And he was gone forth to meditate in the field, the day being now well spent: and when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw camels coming afar off.

Rebecca also, when she saw Isaac, lighted off the camel,

And said to the servant: Who is that man who cometh towards us along the field? And he said to her: That man is my master. But she quickly took her cloak, and covered herself.

And the servant told Isaac all that he had done.

Who brought her into the tent of Sara his mother, and took her to wife: and he loved her so much, that it moderated the sorrow which was occasioned by his mother's death.

And Abraham married another wife named Cetura:

Who bore him Zamram, and Jecsan, and Madan, and Madian, and Jesboc, and Sue.

Jecsan also begot Saba, and Dadan. The children of Dadan were Assurim, and Latusim, and Loomim.

But of Madian was born Epha, and Opher, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaa: all these were the children of Cetura.

And Abraham gave all his possessions to Isaac:

And to the children of the concubines he gave gifts, and separated them from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, to the east country.

And the days of Abraham's life were a hundred and seventy-five years.

And decaying he died in a good old age, and having lived a long time, and being full of days: and was gathered to his people.

And Isaac and Ismael his sons buried him in the double cave, which was situated in the field of Ephron the son of Seor the Hethite, over against Mambre,

Which he had bought of the children of Heth: there was he buried, and Sara his wife.

And after his death, God blessed Isaac his son, who dwelt by the well named Of the living and seeing.

These are the generations of Ismael the son of Abraham, whom Agar the Egyptian, Sara's servant, bore unto him:

And these are the names of his children according to their calling and generations. The firstborn of Ismael was Nabajoth, then Cedar, and Adbeel, and Mabsam,

And Masma, and Duma, and Massa,

Hadar, and Thema, and Jethur, and Naphis, and Cedma.

These are the sons of Ismael: and these are their names by their castles and towns, twelve princes of their tribes.

And the years of Ismael's life were a hundred and thirty-seven, and decaying he died, and was gathered unto his people.

And he dwelt from Hevila as far as Sur, which looketh towards Egypt, to them that go towards the Assyrians. He died in the presence of all his brethren.

These also are the generations of Isaac the son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac:

Who when he was forty years old, took to wife Rebecca the daughter of Bathuel the Syrian of Mesopotamia, sister to Laban.

And Isaac besought the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and he heard him, and made Rebecca to conceive.

But the children struggled in her womb, and she said: If it were to be so with me, what need was there to conceive? And she went to consult the Lord.

And he answering, said: Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be divided out of thy womb, and one people shall overcome the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.

And when her time was come to be delivered, behold twins were found in her womb.

He that came forth first was red, and hairy like a skin: and his name was called Esau. Immediately the other coming forth, held his brother's foot in his hand: and therefore he was called Jacob.

Isaac was threescore years old when the children were born unto him.

And when they were grown up, Esau became a skilful hunter, and a husbandman: but Jacob, a plain man, dwelt in tents.

Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his hunting: and Rebecca loved Jacob.

And Jacob boiled pottage: to whom Esau, coming faint out of the field,

Said: Give me of this red pottage, for I am exceeding faint. For which reason his name was called Edom.

And Jacob said to him: Sell me thy first birthright.

He answered: Lo I die, what will the first birthright avail me?

Jacob said: Swear therefore to me. Esau swore to him, and sold his first birthright.

And so taking bread and the pottage of lentils, he ate, and drank, and went on his way; making little account of having sold his first birthright.

And when a famine came in the land, after that barrenness which had happened in the days of Abraham, Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Palestines, to Gerara.

And the Lord appeared to him, and said: Go not down into Egypt, but stay in the land that I shall tell thee.

And sojourn in it, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these countries, to fulfil the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father.

And I will multiply thy seed like the stars of heaven: and I will give to thy posterity all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and commandments, and observed my ceremonies and laws.

So Isaac abode in Gerara.

And when he was asked by the men of that place, concerning his wife, he answered: She is my sister: for he was afraid to confess that she was his wife, thinking lest perhaps they would kill him because of her beauty.

And when very many days were passed, and he abode there, Abimelech, king of the Palestines, looking out through a window, saw him playing with Rebecca, his wife.